The invention relates to an exhaust gas recirculation cooling element for an internal combustion engine.
The use of exhaust gas recirculation cooling elements in the automobile sector is well known. However, these exhaust gas recirculation cooling elements have a problem with inadequate effectiveness. This is primarily due to the insufficient surface area ratio in the order of approximately 1:1 between the cooling water side and the exhaust gas side. This problem of insufficient effectiveness is evident, in particular, with exhaust gas recirculation cooling elements used with larger internal combustion engines, referring to internal combustion engines used in the maritime industry on ships or on heavy construction vehicles. The employed exhaust gas recirculation cooling elements used in this environment are exposed to completely different power levels than the exhaust gas recirculation cooling elements employed in the automobile sector, where significantly smaller internal combustion engines are used. In addition, the fuel used in large internal combustion engines has a somewhat different composition.
A significant aspect in exhaust gas recirculation cooling of internal combustion engines with high output power is that large exhaust gas quantities need to be cooled by recirculation, wherein the exhaust gas introduces a significant amount of heat into the exhaust gas recirculation cooling element. Of course, the temperature of the exhaust gas can be reduced with sufficiently large exhaust gas recirculation cooling elements; however, it is desirable to construct the exhaust gas recirculation cooling element as compact as possible. In addition, care must be taken that the housing of the exhaust gas recirculation cooling element is not excessively heated.
It is an object of the invention to provide an exhaust gas recirculation cooling element particularly for a internal combustion engine with high output power, wherein the exhaust gas recirculation cooling element should still be compact while also preventing excessive heating of its housing.